The present invention relates to a device for generating gas and an airbag apparatus for protecting an occupant from an impact by inflating an airbag with gas generated by the gas generator.
An airbag apparatus protects an occupant from an impact when an impact due to, for example, a collision is applied to a vehicle. The airbag apparatus causes a gas generator to generate gas in response to an impact, and uses the gas to inflate an airbag in the vicinity of the occupant to reduce the impact applied to the occupant.
Known gas generators include a columnar inflator for generating gas and a retainer that covers the inflator and fastens the inflator to a component of a vehicle.
For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2011-121469 discloses an airbag apparatus that includes an inflator having bolts on the outer surface. The bolts are separated from each other in the axial direction of the inflator. The bolts protrude in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the inflator.
A retainer (referred to as a sleeve in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2011-121469) has a tubular holding portion, which covers one end of the inflator in the axial direction. A tongue piece having a passage hole extends from the holding portion in the axial direction of the inflator. The passage hole is formed by a longitudinal section extending in the axial direction of the inflator and a short transverse section extending from an end of the longitudinal section in the circumferential direction of the holding portion.
When the inflator is assembled to the retainer of the gas generator, a bolt is passed through an end of the longitudinal section that is on the opposite side to the short transverse section. Then, the inflator is moved in its axial direction to insert an end of the inflator into the holding portion, thereby sliding the bolt toward the short transverse section along the longitudinal section. When the bolt is slid to the boundary between the longitudinal section and the short transverse section, the inflator is rotated about its axis. The rotation causes the bolt to pivot about the axis of the inflator. When the bolt is moved along the short transverse section in the circumferential direction of the holding portion and separated from the boundary between the short transverse section and the longitudinal section, the inflator is restricted from moving in its axial direction relative to the retainer. Accordingly, the position of the inflator is determined in the axial direction.